“Are you concerned that our worlds are so different?”I ask.
He leans up on one elbow.“How so?”
“You know what I mean.”I give him a look.“You’re not exactly the kind of man who has to worry about clipping coupons or living by a budget.”
“So you think that economic standing should decide whether two people get together?”
“No, but it’s a line I worry about crossing because I know what that type of life is about.And it can cause issues.”
“I’m not him.”
“I recognize that, but the scars I carry in my heart make it harder for it fully trust.I just wanted to let you know that I feel like my heart lives in a dry and barren land now.”
“Then I’ll make it rain for you again.”
“Locke…”
“I’ll fill your life with good things.”
I hesitate.
“You’re not sure if you can trust me,” he says, reading me.
I nod.“I’m sorry.I’m not trying to doubt you…”
“You don’t have to be sorry for your doubts.You’re treading cautiously and that’s wise.”
He pulls me close, brushing a kiss across my forehead.“I believe you and I were destined to meet.Destined to love.”
The setting…the yacht, the ocean…it’s beautiful and romantic but what makes it special is being with Locke.And I hate that the wounds an underserving man gave me cause me to tread softly with Locke.
“Shh don’t overthink,” he says.“I need my beauty sleep, and you need your fucking sleep?”
“What?”I poke him in the ribs with a laugh.
“You’re already beautiful enough so I’ll take that kind of sleep.But you need strength for fucking.Now come here and rest with me.”
I fall asleep in Locke’s arms and when I wake the next morning, he’s already up and dressed.When he notices I’m awake, he comes to sit on the side of the bed.
He smiles.“So this is what you look like in the mornings.”
“Mmm,” I say stretching.“Are we headed to the office?”
He shakes his head.“I have something to take care of.”
“Does that mean since you’re not going in, I don’t have to either?”
“Correct.Feel free to take the day off.”
I think about the project tasks filling Locke’s schedule.There’s no urgency to any of them.I smile.“Then I will.I’ll catch up on laundry done so I don’t have to walk around naked.”
His gaze darkens.“If that’s the case, then don’t take the day off.”
I laugh.“But if show up naked HR might not be happy.”
“Who cares about HR?”He stands and takes my hand, pulling me out of bed.Framing my face between his hands, he says, “I don’t want to be apart from you.”
I don’t want to be apart from him either but…
